University of Memphis moves forward with basketball practice facility plans

Kyle Veazey

12:00 AM, Jan 6, 2013

University of Memphis athletic director Tom Bowen

The University of Memphis is moving forward with plans to build a new practice facility for its men's and women's basketball teams, athletic director Tom Bowen said last week.

Bowen first floated the idea in October, when it was included in a master facilities plan that was a component of his strategic plan for the department he inherited in June. Bowen told The Commercial Appeal last week that progress has been made toward firming up plans for the facility, which likely would be located on the east side of U of M's Park Avenue Campus, just north of FedExPark.

Bowen described the facility as in the "quiet" phase, which typically describes the early part of a capital project that includes getting approvals and exploring major gifts to finance it. Facility construction at the U of M has to be routed through the Tennessee Board of Regents.

"We'll continue to push forward with the necessary steps to create some initial renderings, initial design talk," Bowen said. " ... We've started looking at facilities across the country that are new and cutting edge."

One thing's for certain: The building will have identical amenities for both the men's and women's teams.

That's not how it currently is. The Finch Center, the 31,000-square foot facility opened in 2000 for $3.2 million, is home only to the men's team. The Elma Roane Fieldhouse is home to the women's program. It has received and continues to receive some significant amenity upgrades.

Bowen said he believes the U of M is currently compliant with Title IX, the federal law that mandates equal opportunity in education to both genders. "Title IX compliance is not the driving force behind this," he said. But to the extent that the facilities would need future upgrades, such as the Finch, Bowen reasons that it would make sense in a Title IX context to establish equal footing with just one facility.

Recent practice facilities built at Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Tennessee have included equal facilities for both the men's and women's programs. A recently announced facility at Arkansas would also serve both teams — at an estimated cost of $20-25 million.

Bowen isn't sure how much the building would cost, but estimates it being at around 45,000 square feet. He has been particularly impressed with the recent construction of a practice facility at West Virginia, which cost $24.1 million and has a mirror image of amenities for the men's and women's teams.